Although intra-arterial cisplatin has substantial local and systemic toxicity, high therapeutic efficacy suggests the potential usefulness of this agent in the treatment of advanced HCC.

Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) is widely used to treat unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Recently, a fine-powder formulation of cisplatin (DDP-H) was developed in Japan. We aimed to compare clinical outcomes after TACE using epirubicin or DDP-H in patients with HCC. We evaluated 202 patients who were treated with TACE alone, using either epirubicin-lipiodol emulsion or DDP-H-lipiodol suspension. Of these, epirubicin and DDP-H treatment groups comprised 106 and 96 patients, respectively. The median follow-up time was 32 months (range: 1-45 months). The progression free survival rate in the DDP-H–lipiodol group was significantly higher than in the epirubicin-lipiodol group (log-rank test, P =0.0164). Moreover, the DDP-H–lipiodol group showed significantly better overall survival than the epirubicin-lipiodol group (log-rank test: P =0.0052). The overall survival rate at 1, 2, and 3 years was 88.5, 71.8 and 62.4%, respectively, for the DDP-H-lipiodol group and 83.0, 57.9 and 36.5%, respectively, in the epirubicin-lipiodol group. In a multivariate analysis, the independent factors affecting overall survival were drug (epirubicin vs. DDP-H; hazard ratio 0.44, P= 0.0001), clinical stage (I/II vs. III/IV; hazard ratio 1.93, P = 0.0026), and Child-Pugh score (A vs. B/C; hazard ratio 3.15, P < 0.0001). TACE using a gelatin sponge and lipiodol with DDP-H showed better progression-free survival and overall survival rates than TACE with the epirubicin-lipiodol emulsion in patients with HCC. The improvement of overall survival in patients with HCC receiving this treatment warrants further investigation as a randomized control trial.

Arterial infusion chemotherapy of EPF (etoposide, cisplatin, and 5-fluorouracil) or EAP (etoposide, Adriamycin, and cisplatin) was carried out in 28 cases of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) between January 1988 and December 1990, and assessment was made of the anticancer efficacy of each treatment method. In all, 13 patients were treated with EPF therapy and 15 received EAP therapy. The anticancer agents were infused through a catheter inserted into the proper or common hepatic artery. The catheter was inserted via the axillary artery or common femoral artery using Seldinger's method or the cut-down method. The results of each therapy were analyzed in relation to the tumor regression rate and the side effects encountered. The tumor regression rate was determined on the basis of two-dimensional evidence obtained by computed tomography performed before and after treatment. The treatment results were also compared with the results of chemoembolization therapy using a mixture of cisplatin (CDDP), Adriamycin (ADM) and lipiodol. Of the 28 patients treated with arterial infusion chemotherapy, 14 (50%) attained a regression rate of 50% (PR). In all, 46% of the EPF group and 53% of the EAP group achieved a PR. These results were superior to those obtained using chemoembolization therapy. In general, the side effects were relatively mild and transient.

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